Bloom
by BentThornes
Summary: Harry and Lotus have lived rough lives. Now hopefully things are going to be better.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did, it really was/is an excellent series.

Warnings-

This chapter- references to abuse-physical, emotional, and sexual. Neglect.

Story: All of the above. Possibly self harm if I can get myself to write it(history). Same with thoughts of suicide. And open to whatever else I think of-whatever decides to 'fit'.

She didn't think that she could do it. She was afterall, a frightfully thin child. But, low and behold, after tugging and tugging she finally got it loose.

She scampered out quickly, cautiously making sure not to make even the smallest noise. For this is what she had been waiting for- she just could not let it be ruined. As quiet as two human stocking feet can be, she made her way to her location, fumbling only slightly in the familiar darkness. But- really, she paid no mind- as long as no noise was made, she didn't really see where any harm would come to her. She really had thought this through. Well, she had thought it through as thoroughly as her desperate situation had allowed. And now, here she was.

The medicine cabinet.

Ordinary children do not plan quests to get bandaids. They do not have to take risks, they do not have to risk injury, to gather a way to heal. Lotus Potter was not an ordinary child.

She knew what was at stake. She understood what her situation entailed. Again, unlike most children, Lotus had an understanding of something that helped her in times like this- higher consequence. She was not like most children. Children who would be afraid of a scolding for sneaking dessert before dinner. No, because she lived in a world where usually there was generally no dinner of hers to ruined, and where the idea of sneaking dessert was laughable. She lived in a world where if she wanted to eat, she had better be making dessert, and anything else her family desired. And then, if the recipients of her meals felt particularly generous, she would be allowed to scrape from their plates.

And she was lucky. She knew she was, for her brother did not even have the luxury of that. In their household, both her and her brother were kept on separate leashes- one pink and the other blue. While she had been labored with all the indoor tasks, her brother could be expected to be working in the blistering heat(of freezing snow) from dusk until dawn. And that was why this excursion had been necessary.

Harry was hurt. Badly. And she was terrified this time he might actually die.

It was all because of stupid Dudley and his stupid moronic friends. If they had just left well enough alone, none of this ever would have happened. But of course, at the Dursleys things generally went the way of Murphy- _'Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong._ ' But it wasn't like there was anything that she could do- if she didn't get dinner on the table in time then she would have to face her uncle, and it had only been a few hours since she had last been beaten. So, Lotus was helpless the entire time she watched her cousin and his friends attack her brother, and she had been helpless when she watched him fall directly onto the upturned rake.

There was so much blood. She needed bandages and gauze and everything- she needed help! But she knew what would happen if she called the police, she was still suffering the consequences from when she had tried when she was six and her uncle had first started looking at her funny. And. She was scared. She might be a precocious child, but she was a child- and a badly battered one, nonetheless. She and her brother didn't even go to school, how was she to know what her options were? Well, maybe she knew- but she was just so scared.

But it was for her brother. She had to. So with one single huff mixed both with resignation and conviction, she picked up the phone and dialed.


	2. An Interlude

Disclaimer-Nope not mine

Warnings- Not sure what to put here. Suggestions of abuse previously mentioned.

"Did YOU know that Petunia Dursley had three children, not just that buffoonish Dudley?"

"Now now Sally, Dudley is just a child- he can't be held accountable for what those horrible parents of his decided to do."

"I suppose that is true, but couldn't he have said something? Anything? Why didn't he DO anything?"

"Sally, the better question is why didn't WE do anything?"

It had been a week since the 'rescue' of those poor orphaned children. Yes! Orphaned- it could hardly be worse.

The girl, dressed in clothes that- just she should not have been wearing. Dickinsonian, deplorable, disgusting, filth. A torn and dirty shirt that fell down to the childs slim, bruised, and battered knees. No garment could be seen to cover her legs. And that childs eyes. There was fear there that broke the hearts of all who happened to look upon her that night.

And it got... there was more.

She wasn't alone.

Before her, being furiously tended to- was another child. This one was even smaller, and even slighter. And the blood. It was all over both of them.

All they could do was hope. Hope for those poor children, hope that their suffering was over, and hope that hells fury finds no bounds when it came to those responsible for their condition.

And look towards themselves, and recognize what their thoughts had just damned them to. And hope. Hope. That they could stand the guilt- fair or not, that their consciences forced upon them.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Sorry for any gramatical errors- Im mildly dyslexic. And I am rushing through this because I have been incredibly bored lately and well- rushing is working to help with that.**_

It was all so bright and beautiful. Those were the first thoughts that ran through Lotus's head as she was lead out of the prison she had called home for nearly 8 years. Oh sure, there was terror- but she had to laugh too. She had to or she knew that she would never be able to live with what she had just done.

She had saved her brother.

But she had betrayed the family.

Tears welled up in her eyes when she thought of the rare times when her aunt would come and run her fingers through her long red hair- whispering to her with glazed over eyes that 'It was just like 'Lily's'. And how that meant everything to her the first time she heard it, for now she had a name, and now she was- she could feel a little bit more connected to the story that name carried. She thought of the times when her cousin would offer to let them play with some of his toys. He did include them in his games sometimes. What was the use of having two kids living with him who were his own age if he could not play with them? Or at least, that was how she supposed he saw it- it was how she herself probably would have felt if she was in his situation. If she had been part of the family.

The family. How she loved them, but oh how she hated them as well. All the beatings. All the ridicule. All the hatred. And all the... well it was never love.

She was going to have better. She was going to be happy and healthy and free and it was going to be wonderful. And she would not be alone. She had Harry, Harry, who she thought of while choking back a few desperate tears, Harry, who was going to live.

And that made it worth it if nothing else did. How horrible was she for ever considering otherwise- for ever even letting it cross her mind NOT to save him. To let him just rot away and die in that small dirty cupboard- no better than any of the spiders the children had throughout the years been forced to smash. She wasn't sure she could ever forgive herself for her hesitance. She wondered if Harry ever would, if he could.

She smiled, just a little, remembering that at least she would be able to ask.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer-Same

Warnings-Same

She was taken by a very large man to see a very small woman in very white clothes. The woman, who had reddish hair not very much unlike her own, was smiling at her in a way that scared her. This wasn't strange, everything scared her, and she had a feeling that this fear was- just her being silly. But she could not help but feel those nauseating pangs rush up through her chest- constricting it- hurting it- hurting it so badly- she wanted to scream but she knew better of course. So instead, for the millionth time that night she was brave and smiled right back.

"Oh, sweetie! Oh, oh, how old did you say she was Rob? The child doesn't look more than five of six!"

The lady voiced this all with a slight waver in her voice. The voice terrified Lotus even more, for it was so warm and held something that she just could not quite recognize. She felt like she KNEW what it was, but like she didn't at the same time, and that she really should. But something, that same thing that was grabbing at her so voilently, was telling her that she had better not dare. That she had better stay away from the soothing soft sounds that generously poured out of the kindly looking womans mouth as she continued to question this person- this Rob person- who had not been quite as warm and kind, more businesslike, and therefore less threatening.

"Well kid, Doctor Lyons here is just about the best there is at everything you would ever think to think about. That lady, well, you will be safe here with her brains behind you. Can't go wrong, even in a case like you alls when you got her on your team."

The man rushed this out of his mouth, seemingly in a nervous hurry to get wherever it was he needed to be next. He kept looking at this watch he had on his wrist.

*FLASHBACK/MEMORY*

 _Lotus remembered the watch like it was yesterday. Dudley had just started school. Aunt Petunia had been so happy and proud that she didnt even yell at Lotus when she accidently dropped a fork down the disposal. This was before Lotus became terrified of the disposal. Anyways, her aunt had set about doing everything that Lotus generally did- and Lotus did have to admit that her aunt did all of those chores surprisingly well- making everything perfect for her precious little scholar. She was making this very complicated pudding for her 'darling boy', when she quickly forgot that- Dudley needed a reward for being so good that whole day._

 _It really wasn't a huge deal, Dudley hadn't even started school, all that happened was that Uncle Vernon had spent the day registering him at the local primary, and Dudley- fussy and tempermental as ever, had been forcibly dragged along. It was picture day. Lotus knew this well because she had spent the entire night cleaning the entire house top to bottom and back to top again. Because Dudley had to look nice and presentable, and for some reason that required the walls that struggled to contain his already large frame to be scoured too. Everything. EVERYTHING. Had to be nice for Dudley's 'big day'. Lotus felt like she needed a 'big nap'._

 _But, she did it of course- the idea of a nap long since even being allowed to exist in her imagination- that is, she cleaned that house like it had never been cleaned before (It had, as Lotus sure well knew). And when she was done, when she was covered head to toe in- nothing but her own blood and sweat- the house WAS consistantly kept in pristine condition- her aunt had sent her off to help her brother._

 _This was rare. The children were generally kept apart except for those long nights in the cupboard, when they usually cuddled up together for warmth on the floor all around them. But even when they were in the cupboard, their aunt and uncle did not like them talking. In fact, it was a serious offense to be caught talking in the cupboard. It surely meant beatings for the both of them, and worse depending on who happened upon them and what mood that person was in._

 _The worst punishments happened when their aunt wasn't home._

 _But, anyways. The twins were not allowed to talk to each other. Really they were not allowed or appreciated when they said much beyond, 'yes, sir' and 'yes, mam'. Sorry was occasionally acceptable, as were thank you's when the time suggested. But to each other they were not really supposed to say even those few words- they could be plotting some 'funny business'. What funny business they never knew, but after a while even they started to feel the slightest bit uncomfortable about each other, though never uncomfortable enough to stop their late night huddles. They felt safe then, it was, easily, both of their favorite times of the day._

 _Yet during the day they were meant and expected to act like near strangers. That was why it was so unusual for Lotus to be let to go outside- WITH HARRY._

 _Lotus never hardly went outside at all. Only if Harry was too badly injured or ill was she allowed to leave the house to double down on his chores as well. But today, today was different and Lotus was excited! She was even more astounded when her aunt handed her 50-(50!) pounds, a short while later after spending a while keeping an eye on the two-VERY small children. They were to go buy Dudley a present and then were to come right back! Their aunt said this very quickly, and was about to say something else when she was cut off by the shrill ringing of the timer she had set earlier. Without a second glance at the two scrawny things behind her, she rushed inside to her sons future feast._

 _Harry and Lotus just stared at it for a minute. It lay awkwardly in Harry's left palm, and the upper corners of it were just a little bit crumbled- but it was one of the most wonderful things the two five year olds had ever seen. They knew where the store was- their aunt passed by it every time she was forced to take them with her on an outing (rare), and Harry had a thing for direction. In fact, Harry had spent one afternoon that they had both been forced to spend in their cupboard because of company, outlining the dimensions of the nearby area with a piece of chalk Dudley had left on the sidewalk one day. The chalk faded, but the memory of the drawing was still as clear as day to both of them._

 _So they had absolutely no problem getting to the store. But they had never been inside before. It was huge and they were small, but they had 50 pounds so they knew that they would be fine. 'Nothing bad happened to people who had money, the rich owned the world! Having money was the only way to save yourself from joining the freaks and the loonies', was something their uncle would always say while making a point to eye a twin. So they were safe and they were powerful and they were so happy... until they remembered that really 'they' were Dudley. They had to spend it on him. They were both downhearted when they went and picked Dudley out this new video game that they had both heard him complaining loudly recently about not owning. And they went to the front counter. The cashier was young, naive, stupid, and just really didnt care or bother to question why two small children were in front of her all alone- he just rung them up, gave them a complementary lollypop each, and watched them look at each other entirely slack jawed. The game had only been 45 pounds. They were rich again! And this money was all theirs for them and they could do whatever they wanted with it- possibilities were endless. At least in their minds that day._

 _And that was how they bought their very first new thing. It was not a toy. They wished for toys, but there were other things they needed more. Harry kept getting into trouble. Recently Uncle Vernon had been coming home from work earlier, and Harry- before having recognized his uncles arrival as co-inciding with when Old Mr. Tyler got his mail, was now lost. It was very bad for him to not be finished with his chores by the time his uncle had gotten through with 'a long days work'. It showed that he was lazy and good for nothing. And it hurt when Uncle Vernon hit him with his belt- or his fists. His split lip had recently been doing a really great job of reminding him of that. And seeing as how Aunt Petunia had given them all of Dudleys old clothes when she had been out shopping for a new wardrobe for times when Dudley could be casual during the school year, well- neither of them really needed anything desperatley from the clothing department. Harry had a light long sleeved shirt to wear to fight off the sun, and Lotus really just couldn't care less as long as she WAS clothed. So it was back to Harry. Lotus had issues and needs as well, but- well, she thought Harry's might be one they could maybe solve a bit easier. And that was when they saw it. The watch. It was beautiful. Big and yellow and happy looking. And only 4 pounds._

 _It was the best day ever._

And it was why she really didn't want this 'Rob' to leave her.

But she knew that what she wanted didn't really matter very much, if at all. Things only got to matter when they were kept hidden. Like the extra pound she and her brother had stuffed away in the bottompart of their cupboard- inside a chip in the peeling paint- for another such wonderful day. Now she had nothing. She had no Roy, no watch, no money, and no Harry.

And so when the nice lady beckoned her again, forward she went, for she had nothing left to lose.


	5. Chapter 4

Warnings- same

DIsclaimer- well, same...

He was furious!

How DARE the headmaster summon him during one of his infrequent and oh so well earned, days of relaxation? Why- it isn't as if the headmaster didn't have access to him 3/4 of the year- oh no, no, Merlin forbid Severus have any time to do anything that he had ever intended when first deciding to submerge himself in the art of a potions mastery. Make potions? What a ridiculous notion. Except for a pepper up or some other elementary concoction needed to cure the sniffles or whatever it was that children ended up contracting with their grubby little hands. It sure wasn't anything that would help them brew their own basic potions to fix their own basic problems. No, he, second best potions master in the world, had to instead waste his talents on potions even a first year hufflepuff would likely be able to brew competantly.

Alas. His thoughts steamed onwards as he made his way to the headmasters office. The gargoyle, sensing his temper, let him in right away.

Robes billowing he took one look at the headmasters face and quickly his thoughts changed from things such as pepper up, to how many lacewing flies he had remaining, and whether it was enough to make him the strong anti-headache potion he would need for after this meeting.

"Severus, I am afraid that I have some terrible news."

"Yes Headmaster, I would assume that you must have sound reasoning for sending for me at this hour".

At this point Severus was rather curious. This, from the look of the the wrinkles on the Headmasters face, he hadn't been sleeping. Now, the headmaster, as Severus picked up immediately due to his skills in espionage, kept a very solid and regular- although shockingly short- sleep schedule. It was one of the few things the coot put the effort forth to regulate, therefore to see such weariness in the was mildly alarming.

"Severus, my boy. I have recieved news that the Potters have been removed from their aunts house. Now, my sources tell me that they are in the hands of one of my old students, a ravenclaw a few years below you- Victoria Lyons- was quite advanced back then, intelligent, perhaps you knew her?"

"You know that I did not engage in frivilous socialization. I do not remember Mrs. Lyons, but I am sure that she would not have been able to hold par, nor would she have wanted to, with the level of discussion I required to engage in a conversation about one of my interests."

Severus, admittedly to himself, said this quite defensively.

"Yes yes I suppose you are correct on several matters there my dear boy, especially considering that Dr. Lyons happens to be a muggleborn. Well, I dare say you will get to know her very well very soon indeed, for she has the children, and I need you to retrieve them."

"Why are they even with this Doctor? Is one of the little brats sick? Probably from eating too many sweets or watching too much of the television."

Severus scoffed- for a split second- until he saw the mask of composure the headmaster had been putting on for his benefit start to slip around the edges.

Five minutes later Severus had all the information he needed to meet with one Dr. Victoria Lyons. And all the preconcieved bias disguised as fact, that he felt he needed for dealing with James Potters spawn.


	6. Chapter 5

Warnings- same as before. Slight cursing.

Disclaimer- Nope not mine still

It was slow going. The exam was embarassing for the child, that much Victoria could tell. It took her a while to even get the poor dear to speak her name, and after all the work for that, she immediately lapsed back into silence.

This nine year old sure had a long road ahead of her. This was made even more certain after Victoria finshed the examination.

Physical abuse, anemia, malnutrition leading to a dangerously low weight-sexual abuse- repeated instances from what she could tell.

The child was bruised and battered in so many ways. She had poorly healed fractures popping up all over her body that would need to be dealt with, a few of them surgically. But not right now. That could wait.

What could not was getting this girl help.

She refused to speak to either her or the psychiatrist on staff, not that Victoria blamed her, it had obviously been a trying day, a trying life, for her. Now she was being taken away to a whole new world filled with things unfamiliar. She had been uprooted and in Victorias opinion the sooner she was somewhere where she could find some degree of stability, the better.

When that man came through the door, well, she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Some answer to her wish.

He was a tall man, an unattractive one if she did say so herself, who was unkempt and unfriendly looking. From moment he had walked in, upon setting eyes upon the child, she watched his face continuously contort itself into a variety of differnet affects- many of them negative seeming, but a few that even she had found difficult to describe. Eventually, after settling on a rather blank and impassive look, he spoke.

"I am here for the Potter children." The man said briskly glancing his coal black eyes in a half hearted attmpt to reach her warm blue.

She had to advocate, it was her job, but also she couldn't stand the thought of giving this girl to someone who would end up just extending her suffering.

"Well, I do have Lotus Potter here with me, but I will need to see authorization before I consider letting you near her. As for her brother, I believe that he is still in critical care, but besides that I have no information nor jurisdiction to provide you with anything in relation to him." She spoke all of this in a cool voice, careful to keep her composure and professionalism, but also to make it clear that she was in charge of the situation and would not be intimidated.

Yet the man actually had the nerve to sneer.

"Are you aware that her brother happens to be 'Harry Potter?'"

The man spoke this with such distaste and condescention that the shock of the news didn't even reach her until after she had processed a quick surge of heated anger.

But, eventually the shock won out. "I see that this situation might be a bit more complicated than I might have originally anticipated. I am not sure what I can do for Harry, but I will try my best to get his case transeferred over to myself as soon as he is stable enough to be moved to a regular treatment room." She stumbled this out, actually getting to be quite nervous and overwhelmed with the situation that she had just found herself in.

"Is Harry going to be alright?"

They had all completely forgotten the little girl in the paper gown. Glasses askew on her face, clouding her hazel eyes. It was why it took Victoria a moment to register the tears slipping sorrowfully down the girls very pale face.

"Sweetie, I do not know. I will not lie to you, you do not deserve that after all that you have been through, but I am afraid the truth will not be of much comfort. I can tell you that they are doing everything that they possibly can for Harry right now." Oh how bad she felt for the child, how bad she felt when the girls expression did not change and the tears remained streaming.

"Dr. Lyons', that annoying mans voice interrupted rudely, 'Did you not forget that there is an entire magical community with access to a multitude of treatments not available to muggles? That giving me the children, I, who have direct orders from the headmaster himself- something I would have explained if you had allowed me just a free moment-might very well be in their best interest? Or were you too busy attempting to show the world the extent of you incompetancy? Would not want to be dishonest would you?" The bastard had the nerve to sneer AGAIN.

"Well, maybe if you didn't just barge into the room of a traumatized child acting and looking at her as if you meant to exorcise her, I would have been a bit warmer. As it stands, headmasters orders or not, I will not let you harm either of these children. As if I am just going to hand over the boy who lived to any person who happens to recognize him, and you, you have other strikes against you as well. No, my shift is almost over- and I have not taken vacation days in years, no, I will be coming with you to assure no further harm comes to those who do not deserve it."

She said this in a firey way which made Severus almost want to respect her just a little bit. But then he remembered her earlier foolishness and snapped back whatever feelings of positivity might have been trying to break free.

"Fine" He said

"Fine" She said

And no one even noticed that Lotus said nothing.


	7. Chapter 6

"Harry!"

Lotus shouted out the second she saw the ill form of her twin brother.

"Whats wrong with him?" Here she looked from one adults face to the next, pleading with them for answers as to the state of the only family she felt she still had a chance remaining.

"Sepsis, a punctured spleen, massive blood loss- and those are just the immediate acute injuries. Kid, it is going to be tough. I am not sure what else we can do for your brother except wait at this point. Shame really, so young." The elderly doctor near her brothers bedside grunted out weakly.

Lotus's heart fell towards her chest. The room. Why was the room moving. Was she moving? She was going to be sick. And what was that, what did that funny man just say about Harry? Her thoughts, they needed to quiet down, or maybe they needed to speak up so she could hear what they were saying- because right now at this point she could hardly make sense of anything at all. She tried- breathing in and out- in and in and in and- why couldnt she breathe? In and in, but it was no use, all she could feel were the thoughts and fears stealing her breath from her- they needed to get out, needed to escape. With one push, using all the might that she had, she stuttered out,

"But, but, he is going to be ok right? He is going to get better?"

The man in all the black rolled his eyes at her. This is why she knew she shouldn't talk. She always messed everything up and now she had obviously done something really bad. She averted her eyes down towards the floor. She was such a vile disgrace, god why did she have to speak, such an idiot. Maybe if she pretended she didn't exist then everyone else could too.

Severus couldn't, well of course he could, belive that the stupid child had just asked a question that had just previously been answered. Apparently listening was too much to ask of the child. She was a Potter after all. But then he saw her, then he looked at her and he saw- she was shrinking. He remembered back when he was a child, how many times he would ask his mother question after question- never quite being satisfied with her passive and evasive answers and non-answers. He rememberd the confusion, and he rememberd the fear that had come with even voicing his own concern- and how he deflated whenever he got to the point where he would reach that wall. That 'I am shutting away from you, you demand too much just by existing', wall- that would hurt him so much. That would harm his self confidence just a bit more each time- until one day he reached the point of just being a shell. It was only Lily who had been able to see him beyond the damage and refill him with hope and purpose- and Merlin forbid- this child doing the very same thing right in front of him- wilting- well she was Lily's as well. And no child, especially her child, deserved to have a face that intimately knew the look of resignation.

"Look at me" He spoke in soft tones to the girl.

"I will do everything in my power to see to it that both you and your brother recieve the best of care."

And maybe it was just a trick of his mind, but he thought for a very second he saw a glimmer shine from the eyes of both children. What was assured though was that,

Harry had awoken.


	8. Chapter 7

Harry was really in a bad state. His normally thin face looked skeletal, helped not at all by the deathly palor that had settled definitively over his delicate and childlike features. The tubes around him didn't give a great first impression towards his overall wellbeing- so many tubes and only one sick little boy. He was in and out of consiousness, repeating only his name and his sisters while being awake- groaning only a little- before fluttering back into the blissful interruption from pain unconsiousness offered.

It was Severus who spoke first. "We need to get him back to Hogwarts immediately. How fast can you get him in a situation to be transferred?" He said this all very somberly and seriously, his face seeming to shadow over itself- looking at Victoria as he said the last bit.

"Well, I can disconnect him to all but the IV, get him a portable one. But he does need the IV, everything else is not absolutely essential and he can afford to be without until we can get magical replacements. He is breathing on his own, he doesn't need the ventilator- it is probably soon to be removed anyways. I can...', she looked at Severus while biting her lip as she flashed out the last bits of her sentance 'I will disconnect him now. But if we are going to travel using magical means- he will need to be carried, and I cannot... you will have to. But you will have to be very careful- he has lost a lot of blood, he is in a fragile state"

"I am willing to do whatever it takes to get the Potters to Hogwarts safely."

The tone of this conversation was tense, both adults knew that the situation was dangerous for the boy, and his sister- although not in immediate danger- she would need to be watched as to how she reacted once reaching the gigantic and potentially overwhelming Hogwarts grounds. That panic attack that she had earlier was surely not the last, and she would most assuredly need continued support. Both children would most probably have serious emotional issues, and their adjustment would need to be dealt with delicately.

Severus did not envy the person left with that responsibility. The boy who lived and his sister- disturbed children? Abused children? From what he had glanced at the boys chart, it surely appeared that way- and there was no denying the signs in the girl. The timid and hesitant nature that she obviously was clinging to desperately- fear. Terror. Terror that only comes from something with the magnitude as to scar a human being at the core. She was broken, no, no damaged, but if something wasn't done soon- she could easily shatter.

This is when he looked over at the child who had been so quiet. She had made her way over to the far corner of the room and was standing there- in her hospital gown that reached mid calf, with her arms overlapping desperately. Hugging herself, tearing at herself. She was shaking, yet neither of them had noticed until now. Her eyes were shut tightly, and she was leaning over upon herself, hunched over as if to block out the world around her.

Sighing, Severus recognized that she was trying to fight off intense anxiety- probably trying, doing something she had unfortunately seemed to have practice at doing- fighting not to show the more outward signs of a panic attack- trying to minimize it so she wasn't noticed in her suffering.

By this point Victoria had taken care of releasing Harry from his medical menajerie, and was wiping off a bit of sweat from the boys forehead, in the next moment planning to inform the man of the situation and plan the next step- but before she could he spoke.

Well, at first he touched her. He put his hand on her shoulder, firmly, not gently but not harshly either- and nodded towards Lotus. The poor dear was in a state. A horrid one. She looked so small and alone, with one nod towards the man, she walked over towards her while he took a step towards Harry.

Once she reached her, well, at first nothing happened. Nothing. Things changed to reach that nothing because from walking, the second she took that first step- the girl stopped, stiff as a board. Her breathing increased. But she was like a wild animal, frozen in terror, knowing its fate but hoping that maybe it can make the situation a bit more bearable with its passive display of acceptance. If she didn't fight maybe it wouldn't be so bad. That was what Victoria suspected, because from what she knew of their previous family situation- feelings of safety were probably overpowered by the displays of dominance regularly performed to keep those children small, passive, and obedient.

She didn't know if it was the right thing to do. She had no training in this really, not very much, not enough. And she had no children. But she was human, and she hoped that maybe that would be enough. Moving slowly, she knelt down and embraced the small still child, in the very warmest embrace that she could.


	9. Chapter 8

Warnings- Swearing- once, and all that was previously mentioned.

Disclaimer- Nope it wasn't me. It was... It was HER! JK Rowling!

The world around them was something out of a picture book. One of the good kinds that Aunt Petunia sometimes read to Dudley when he was ill(He wouldn't listen to a book otherwise, why would he want to when with the television he could listen AND watch?).

It was huge. And it wasn't just the castle that was taking her eye- everything around here was so... open. She didn't know how to feel about this. She wasn't panicked, not exactly- a bit apprehensive maybe, but really by this point in the night just about every emotional reserve she could have had had been squeezed completely dry. All that was left was this floaty acceptance. And so she followed.

The Snape man walked quickly. She knew that his name was Professor Snape because he had barked it at the kind doctor lady when she had asked 'If we are going to make this in any way work, we are going to need to know a bit about each other'- and then she had proceeded to give her name- and Snape had proceeded to give her that and much more.

Lotus could tell that Victoria- she felt odd calling her that but she had *emphatically* insisted after Snape made sure that the idea would be to address him with much more formal titling. She liked 'sir'. 'Sir' was somewhat familiar. It was what she called her uncle sometimes. She wondered if it was odd that she still missed them all somewhat. Her aunts screeching, her cousins bullying, her uncles... no. She was disgusting.

And so she hung her head.

Severus noticed the child beside him. He saw the familiar look of being trapped in a world distorted. One where a person had to consistantly fight with themselves to stay 'present'- and even harder- to stay- to thwart, absolute confusion. He saw her head droop and the glazed over look in her eyes. So he stopped. He probably shouldn't have, not with Harry in his arms, but he had sent his patronus to the headmaster and was sure that someone would be sent to assist them- carry the burdon he currently held in his arms. But still, he thought it best to continue moving. To stay in one place at a time when everything around you is changing can make a person liable to get what he liked to think of as 'mental sea legs'. A person tries to process the world around them- but if they are moving they can only do so in a very basic and surface level way- if they stop- physically- to think- to feel- if they stop- things have nowhere to go- they crash right into that person, throwing them mentally off kilter. It was just something that he had found in himself. He had a bad habit of dwelling, and although he would be the first to admit to it- it could be problematic. But, of course. There are times when a person CAN reach out to greet those things, it is just- they had to be still. With patience everything comes together he had begun to realize as of late. It was a bit of a 'new aged' philosophy he supposed, and was never something he would talk about publically- for it could be easily misconstrued as- apathy- but it wasn't- it was just careful, crafted, solid, measured, ambition. But, that really was beyond a point much of the time.

That man Snape was looking at her funnily again. She minded, she didn't like when people looked at her too much, she was afraid of them seeing the truth. That she was just a filthy, dirty, ugly, useless, no good, stupid whore who was only good for one thing and one thing only- a nice long _fuck._ Why did he have to keep looking at her, why, did he... Did he? Should she ask him? Maybe later after _Victoria_ had gone off, for she wondered if it was meant to be somewhat of a secret, like it had been with her uncle.

Of course that was what was going to happen. It WAS the only thing she was good for, its what Uncle Vernon had always said as far back as he really started 'talking' to her. But yes, she would be taken to a place where she could earn her keep, and this Snape was obviously one of the ones in charge. She had better be nice to him. Sometimes it was just a little bit easier if she was nice. She lifted her head, swept her slightly curly red hair back behind her ears, and gave him one of the looks Uncle Vernon liked her to make whenever he wanted to take pictures. And her heart broke.

He looked appauled.

What in the name of... what was that child doing? She looked at him, batting her eyelashes and doing something with her lips and tongue that- made him absolutely terrified. How. He didn't know. How could. She must have.

One thing was certain, they sure had quite a few challenges ahead of them all.


End file.
